Martial arts classes in Reading, United Kingdom
Browse 14 martial arts gyms in Reading. Compare styles, prices, free trials, kids and beginner classes. Open a gym for its timetable and contact details.
Reading Amateur Boxing & Fitness Club
An amateur boxing club on Chatham Street in central Reading with ABA-qualified coaches. The weekly timetable has beginners’ and novices’ training on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, boxing fitness classes, a Saturday ladies-only class, junior boxing for ages 8 to 12 and sessions for carded competition boxers. One-to-one coaching is also available.
Whitley Amateur Boxing Club
A not-for-profit amateur boxing club on Callington Road in Whitley, south Reading, founded in 2015 by former professional boxer Nathan Ward and registered with England Boxing. Mixed classes run for ages 13 to adult, with a Wednesday beginners’ class and kids’ boxing for ages 8 to 13. Adults can pay per class or take a monthly plan.
STMA Academy Reading (Shaolin Tigers Martial Arts)
A large martial arts academy on Scours Lane in west Reading, run by former world champion kickboxer Dan Eden as a branch of the Shaolin Tigers club founded in 1984. It teaches K1 kickboxing, Muay Thai, boxing, no-gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA, with junior and adult classes, and its boxing section is affiliated to England Boxing. The academy has a cage upstairs and a full-size ring downstairs.
Matthews Bennett Muay Thai (MBMT)
A Muay Thai gym on Bridgewater Close in west Reading run by instructors James Matthews and Mark Bennett, who have competed in Muay Thai, K1 and MMA. Classes cover punches, kicks, knees, elbows, throws and clinch work, with an adults and teens class, an advanced class for over-13s and kids’ classes for ages 5 to 12.
Super Fire Gym
A Muay Thai gym on Boulton Road in south Reading founded by Liam Hamilton, who began training in Muay Thai in 1984, and run with former professional fighter Jenny Hamilton. It offers Muay Thai classes for all levels, with a team of fighter-coaches, junior classes and Saturday morning circuits. The gym has a ring, a matted floor and a weights room.
Mathouse BJJ
A Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy in west Reading founded in 2015 by multiple European champion Dominik Debiec, a student of Roger Gracie. It runs gi and no-gi classes for adults (15+), kids’ and teens’ BJJ, and kettlebell classes, plus a four-week beginners’ course. The first trial class is free and the gi is provided.
Tiska Reading Shotokan Karate School
A traditional Shotokan karate school in the Tiska association with classes at Cotswold Sports Centre in Tilehurst on Sunday mornings, at Maiden Place Community Centre in Lower Earley on Sunday afternoons and in Winnersh on Monday evenings. Each session opens with a half-hour beginners’ class, and parents can train alongside their children.
Kazoku Karate-Do
A family-run karate club affiliated to the British Combat Karate Association, teaching at Christ the King Church Hall in Whitley Wood and at Shinfield Infant School. Adult karate runs on Wednesday and Friday evenings after the mixed-age family classes, and there are Kazoku Kids classes for ages 4 to 12. The club also runs a separate Kombat Defence self-defence class.
Woodley (Reading) Karate Club – Thames Valley Shotokan Karate
The Woodley club of Thames Valley Shotokan Karate, run by Richard Hughes and Richard Wilson (both 5th dan), trains on Monday and Friday evenings at Highwood Primary School. A beginners’ class runs from 6pm before the main class for other grades. Men, women and children over 8 are welcome.
Thames Valley Pro Taekwon-Do & Korean Kickboxing
A Taekwon-Do and Korean kickboxing club led by an instructor with more than 35 years’ experience, with its Reading classes at Rivermead Leisure Complex. Youth and adult Taekwon-Do runs on Monday evenings (technical and beginners) and Thursday evenings (pad work and sparring), with children’s classes on Monday and Friday afternoons. Korean kickboxing, which mixes Taekwon-Do kicking with Muay Thai striking, is also taught at Rivermead.
Jade Dragon School (Caversham class)
A tai chi and qigong school run by Paul Chapman, teaching the traditional Yang style 37-step form. Its Reading classes are at Caversham Hall on Monday evenings, with a Thursday “Tai Chi Plus” class there that adds partner work and other internal Chinese martial arts. The school also teaches in Woodley, Twyford, Wokingham, Bracknell and Maidenhead.
Traditional Chinese Martial Arts & Black Tiger Association
A Chinese martial arts association founded in Reading in 2000 by Sifu Jerry Nicholls, a member of the British Council for Chinese Martial Arts. It runs 12-week tai chi and qigong beginners’ courses and weekly Yang style classes for students who already know the 10 and 24 forms; groups are small and closed. Private lessons in other internal and external Chinese styles can be arranged.
Berkshire Tai Chi
A traditional tai chi school led by Philip Larsson, serving Earley, Woodley, Reading and Wokingham. New students start with a Beginners’ Introduction to Tai Chi, a short taster programme held at St Nicolas Church Hall in Earley, and can then join the regular weekly classes. The school also runs gentle Chinese exercise classes for health in Arborfield.
Diverse Krav Maga
A family-run Krav Maga self-defence club certified by the International Krav Maga Federation (IKMF), training at Meadway Sports Centre in Tilehurst. Adult classes run on Monday evenings and Saturday lunchtimes, with a Wednesday family class for adults and teens and separate kids’ (5+) and teens’ classes.